Bitch Media - Johanna Fatemanhttp://bitchmagazine.org/taxonomy/term/8633/0
enFrom the Library: Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolutionhttp://bitchmagazine.org/post/from-the-library-girls-to-the-front-the-true-story-of-the-riot-grrrl-revolution-0
<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3441/3817944885_8b26d15b94_o.jpg" /></p>
<p>Everybody's talking about <a href="http://www.girlstothefront.com/" rel="nofollow"><i>Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution</i></a>. Sara Marcus spent the last five years researching for this book which Kathleen Hanna describes as <a href="http://kathleenhanna.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/great-new-book-about-riot-grrrl/" rel="nofollow">"the first meticulously researched book about Riot Grrrl."</a></p>
<p><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/5040438366_ae16be7b14_o.jpg" /></p>
<p>The personal and detailed accounts of concerts, meetings, tensions, and friendships make it clear that this book was well researched. <I>Girls to the Front</i> begins with a Bikini Kill concert on the evening of April 4, 1992, and wakes up in the morning to introduce us to the young feminist revolutionaries taking over the streets of Washington DC for the March for Women's Lives on April 5th. We follow Kathleen Hanna as she gets onto a Seattle-bound bus, on her way to meet Kathy Acker in 1989. We learn that Riot Grrrls used magic markers to draw stars and hearts on their hands, which helped them to identify each other in public. We sit in on Riot Grrrl meetings and experience the frustrations over sexist media portrayals of the movement. And we read about Mary and Erika, two zinesters who made <i>Wrecking Ball</i>, a zine which they used to acknowledge the fact that many white girls in the Riot Grrrl movement were ignoring issues of race and class.</p>
<p>Marcus writes about what she learned from Riot Grrrl: that emotional challenges often result "not from personal failings but from political and social forces" and that through fighting these forces, one can "change the world for real". In the years that have lapsed since her connection with Riot Grrrl, she notes that she kind of lost track of this enthusiasm. But through researching and writing this history of Riot Grrrl, she finds herself reconnecting with her convictions. And through reading this book, it seems that lots of us are reconnecting with ours.</p>
<p>One thing's for sure: this book has prompted lots of women who were involved with the movement to start talking about it again. Johanna Fateman <a href="http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/1703/6325" rel="nofollow">reviewed the book for Bookforum</a>. Jessica Hopper <a href="http://tiny.abstractdynamics.org/archives/011685.html" rel="nofollow">praised it on her blog</a>, stating that she hopes this book will open the door to future Riot Grrrl scholarship. And <a href="http://thebumpideereader.blogspot.com/2010/09/in-beginning-there-was-rhythm.html" rel="nofollow">Tobi Vail recently responded to the book</a>, and concluded her review by stating that punk rock feminism is <i>not</i> dead, and that Riot Grrrl belongs to anyone who needs it:</p>
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If you are interested in starting a young feminist movement rooted in your generation, my advice to you is not to let anyone stop you. People will laugh at you. Ignore the sound of their voices and listen to your own. Scream if you have to, even if you think that no one can hear you. If you are actually threatening the status quo you will not have the approval of the status quo. Call it whatever you want, the point is to fuck shit up. This is true for feminists of all ages and eras by the way.
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<p>Marcus is about to start her book tour, complete with appearances from Jessica Hopper, Anna Oxygen, Kathleen Hanna, Mirah, and Tara Jane Oneil, among others. <I>Girls to the Front</i> is very likely coming to a city near you, and I don't think you'll regret taking part in this Riot Grrrl revival. Check out the complete events list <a href="http://www.girlstothefront.com/events.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. The upcoming Bitch podcast will feature an interview with Marcus by Bitch contributor and <a href="/profile/ellen-papazian" rel="nofollow">Page Turner blogger</a> Ellen Papazian, so stay tuned!</p>
<p>And if you're in Portland, stop by <a href="/library" rel="nofollow">our library</a> to get your hands on a copy of <i>Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution</i>.</p>
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/from-the-library-girls-to-the-front-the-true-story-of-the-riot-grrrl-revolution-0#commentsBitch Community Lending Librarybook reviewFrom the LibraryGirls to the FrontJessica HopperJohanna FatemanKathleen Hannariot grrrlSara MarcusTobi VailFrom the LibraryFri, 01 Oct 2010 23:31:31 +0000Ashley McAllister6481 at http://bitchmagazine.orgLe Tigre: On Tour and In Chargehttp://bitchmagazine.org/post/le-tigre-on-tour-and-in-charge
<p>&quot;FEMINISTS, WE'RE CALLING YOU! PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK!&quot;</p>
<p>It's fucking hard to be feminist. (If you just made a dick joke to yourself then get the heck outta here!) No one said negotiating power was easy, but that doesn't mean that you can't rock out while challenging the status-quo, being politically active and refusing to compromise your principles. Enter Le Tigre, and for fun's sake, let's put 'em on tour!<br />
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<p><i>Le Tigre: On Tour</i>, directed by Kerthy Fix, is a documentary that follows the band on their final tour in 2004. After having released This Island, the film chronicles the band's tour of the same name and attempts to offer a glimpse into what it means to be feminist, to be artistic, to be queer, to be subject to the media monster that once commodified a movement as prolific and DIY-based as Riot Grrrl (and be willing to grapple the beast once more), and to do it all with awesome comedic vignettes. </p>
<p>Kathleen Hanna's (formerly of Bikini Kill) message to 'ignore the haters' is an apt description of the film's main theme. Hanna, along with band-members Johanna Fateman and JD Samson, aims to counter the mandate that women have to be nice all the time and does a fine job of it throughout the narrative of the film. The documentary references their battles waged in the name of gender display, remaining both feminist AND lesbian in their politics even when media coverage is on the line, and those that centre on an all too familiar theme in feminist work – a sharpened outsider focus on women's relationships and connections to the 'larger than life' works of men (in Le Tigre's case, it's Hanna's cleverly writing 'Kurt smells like teen spirit' on Cobain's wall one evening causing the anthemic song to be written, but we needn't look far to see this trend continue on in popular culture. The buzz surrounding Kathryn Bigelow, even from a feminist lens, more often than not, whispers the name of James Cameron too). </p>
<p>So whaddaya get when you sit down to watch <i>Le Tigre: On Tour</i>? Tour footage that spurs on intense toe-tapping followed by full-on dance raging? Check. Inclusive feminist lyrics and stories about negotiating female masculinity all delivered in a jazz-ercise meets West Side Story-inspired costume? Check. A pill by pill account of Fateman's daily vitamins? Check. Beyond these entertaining elements, the film offers a real critique of Riot Grrrl culture and the way it was co-opted by mainstream media. Hanna speaks of horizontal Riot Grrrl oppression and the ways that the movement, and the feminist space it created, morphed, leaving her somewhat angry yet as politically vital as ever. What more could you really want in a documentary?</p>
<p>Portlanders! Le Tigre: On Tour is screening at this year's <a href="http://queerdocfest.org/index.html" title="QDoc" target="_blank">QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival</a> – the only queer documentary film festival in the United States! Catch the screening Saturday, June 5th at 8:30 PM at <a href="http://www.clintonsttheater.com/" title="Clinton Street Theater" target="_blank">Clinton Street Theater</a>. BitchMedia is proud to be a community partner for the event.</p>
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/le-tigre-on-tour-and-in-charge#commentsbikini killdocumentaryfilmFilm FestivalJD SamsonJohanna FatemanKathleen HannaKerthy FixLe TigreQDocqueerriot grrrlMoviesMon, 31 May 2010 19:20:42 +0000Shaamini Yogaretnam3338 at http://bitchmagazine.org